A total of eight ferry, aviation and rail firms have been approved to bid for British Government contracts to import vital medicines into the UK after Brexit.

Britain's Transport Secretary Grant Shapps described the group as “high-quality and experienced” as he made the announcement.

His predecessor Chris Grayling faced calls to resign earlier this year after handing a £14 million contract to Seaborne Freight to run freight services, despite having no ships or trading history.

The eight firms appointed to a freight procurement framework are Brittany Ferries, DFDS, Irish Ferries, P&O Ferries, Seatruck and Stena, as well as aviation firm Air Charter Services and train operator Eurotunnel.

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#ferries - In the UK the Department for Transport is cancelling contracts to provide extra ferry services after Brexit.

As BBC News reports, ending the contracts with Brittany Ferries and DFDS could cost the taxpayer more than £50m. (See related Eurotunnel payout story). 

The government bought £89m worth of capacity from the two firms. Some of that capacity might be sold, but millions of pounds could be lost.

The contracts were designed to ease pressure on the port of Dover, by creating extra services at other ports.

In February, the DfT was forced to axe its £13.8m contract with a third company, Seaborne Freight, which the BBC found had never sailed a vessel.

Earlier this year, the National Audit Office estimated that the cancellation costs of all the ferry contracts would be £56.6m.

The cost is likely to only be several million pounds less than this. More on the story, here.